Transformation
by zurrikan
Summary: The Sorceress has plans to tear a mage away and bring her under dark reign...human or no. MarlinEmily
1. Songs of the Past

Wassup everyone! I wish I owned them, but I don't. This takes place after Heart of Avalon. (Oh, and if anyone read Labyrinth of the Witch (or if there are inconsistencies with either story), review with ideas for the sequel!) Enjoy! 

1: Songs of the Past

Emily leaned over the railing with her arms resting casually on top, allowing the cool, salty mist to caress her face. Out on the high seas with Zach flying on drake overhead and Adriane, Dreamer, Kara, Lyra, Ozzie, Cribby, Cribby Jr., even Marlin, Niva, and the rest of Marlin's dragons on the boat, Emily could help the giddy feeling in her stomach. The ocean was cool and calm as they tried to retrace their steps from Port Tuga to the strange little island where Emily and Marlin had found Indi. Indi, her bonded. Indi, her paladin. Emily could feel him in her heart, could see his aura blended with hers when she gazed at her hand. His reflection stood behind hers as she looked at water.

"Hey, Em! The fog is getting thicker," Adriane called from the prow.

"This looks about where we found the mermaid portal, right?" Marlin asked, his reflection appearing beside hers and making the unicorn's waver out of view. The healer glanced around, quite lost for a moment, but then she felt the flicker of mermagic in the water. The sirens were watching them.

"Yes. I can feel the mermaids. You think you'll be able to talk us out of any problems?" she inquired in a low voice as she turned to face the merprince. He was clad in the blue-green jumpsuit of a dragon rider with his dagger hooked in a belt. Niva was following behind them with Cribby Jr. at her side; the other sea dragons bonded to Marlin were patrolling the waters further out. Even so, Emily had to admit, he looked good. _He belongs in that jumpsuit_, she thought absently.

"—lly have any? I'm sure the mermaids will have no trouble now that they've been healed." Emily shrugged, allowing a shiver of fear at what the water-dwellers had almost accomplished last time they had passed through as she turned back to the water. The haunting melody drifted through her mind unbidden and she shook her head to clear it. "Are you alright?" Marlin brushed her arm gently, allowing his webbed fingers to linger on the inside of her elbow.

"Fine. I was just remembering…" she trailed off as the melody returned, this time with a gentle harmony. She put her fingers to her temple and shook her head again, but the music remained, wafting through the mist. "Marlin, is that wha—," Emily broke off. The prince was swaying to the song, too far out to hear the words, but not to be caught in the trap. Emily drifted like a ghost through the fog, trying to push away the thick, heavy feeling in her mind. She felt as though the fog was packing into her head like cotton. She reached the prow of the ship, now very much aware of the music. All of her friends were frozen in the dream. Even Lyra and Dreamer were curled up on the deck, their chests barely moving. The sight made her hopes drop and she felt herself succumbing, following the siren's words as she drifted listlessly to the edge of the ship.

"_Come to me Healer. _

_Let me transform you. _

_Trapped as you are_

_Away from the blue." _

Emily's frown barely registered on her face. The mermaids never spoke as one, unless…Emily pushed through the fog, forcing all of her energy into a cry to her friends. _Something is happening! Concentrate on…waking…waking up. _Almost as an after thought, Emily added two words before she released herself to the music. _Help me_.

"_Caught in the middle_

_There is power inside you_

_It yearns for release_

_As you do." _

The mermaids surfaced as Emily sagged against the railing, her knees rubbing against the smooth bars. They smiled up at her as before and her hand reached for them unconsciously. Once again she slipped over the rail and began to lower herself into the water.

TBC

You know the drill!


	2. Sinking

Well, here's the 2nd installment. Sorry if I rushed into the story really fast. It's kinda hard to come up with an intro, ya know? I may pull in what happened previously to get them on the boat in later chapters, though. Bon apetit!

P.S. I'm reposting this because of inconsistencies. Feel free to tell me more in reviews.

2: Sinking

Adriane jolted out of the dream, her limbs no longer heavy. Kara shifted next to her, pulling out of the spell as well. In fact, almost all of them had woken, with the exception of Cribby and Cribby Jr.

_Help me_. The words drifted into Adriane's thoughts, bringing pictures of deep, soulless black eyes and tails of washed out green, blue, and amber that slapped the water eagerly. However, Adriane focused on the greenish aura that surrounded them, spiking violently and painfully with every aquatic movement. There was something different about these mermaids.

"EMILY!" Adriane ran, her ears guiding her to the starboard railing just in time to see Marlin clambering over the rail, ready to dive into the seething mass of tails, fins, and hair as the healer was pulled beneath the waves.

"Marlin, no! They'll just pull you down too!" Kara called as she jogged up behind them.

"I can hold my breath for 25 minutes," Marlin growled, drawing his dagger. "She can't."

"Don't let him dive," Adriane ordered Kara. "I'm going to try to contact Emily, pull her out of the trance." The blonde leapt over to the prince and grasped his arm. Their bickering became background noise as Adriane and Dreamer dove down the connection to the healer and broke the hold on her mind, only to feel her get forced underwater again. Adriane pushed deeper, ordering Emily to fight harder while she drew on Kara's strength. A familiar and unwelcome sting met their magic as she gave Emily strength and let the magic surge over the mermaids. They flipped away, even as Kara pulled back. Adriane let out a strangled cry and was thrown back into the cabin of the ship as a wave of magic swept into the healer's body.

Emily thrashed to the surface, gasping for breath, but more mermaids swarmed her, their hands leaving sickly green burns on her skin that were healed momentarily by Emily's magic.

"Black fire," Kara murmured to Marlin. "If you had jumped, you'd be dead by now." Kara glanced as the merprince to see that he had gone pale, well, gray at least. She felt a tug on her magic and watched as Emily thrashed more wildly. The mermaids were now unsure, their prey giving more of a fight than they expected, yet something pushed them forward. Kara recoiled from Adriane's mental grasp as dark magic surged over the unicorn and wolf magics. She turned her attention back to the redhead, however, to see that the blast had worked; the mermaids were retreating. A young siren with full peach lips and a shimmering amber tail suddenly surfaced and wrapped her arms around Emily squeezing with strength that would crack ribs. Marlin struggled to free himself from Kara, but she wrapped her arms around him to keep him in the ship. Kara couldn't see it, but she could feel the blast building, fueled by all of the mermaids and the dark magic. "Emily, swim!" she yelled, but the healer's struggles were in vain. The power surged through the redhead with devastating force. Her heart-wrenching scream echoed in all of their ears as the mermaids disappeared and Emily sank once again.

TBC


	3. Waking Wonders

Aren't you glad I post so quickly? I know, I know, you love me. It's going to my head. BUT…I need help. The next chappie contains a fight between friends and a wicked kool revelation. I need a title. Review for me, buds, and give me some ideas! AFterall, interactive writing rocks! (Oh, and for those of you who hate my tiny little chappies, the next ones will be some of the longest so don't get angry.)

P.S. I'm reposting this because of complaints about inconsistencies. Please, feel free to tell me more.

3: Waking Wonders

"Any idea what happened to her?"

"I dunno. I'm just glad the tail's gone." Emily groaned, images blurring over her vision as she opened her eyes.

"Emily? How are you feeling?" A pale green face swam into view. She focused on the motion below her, using it as an anchor to reality. The face settled into focus.

"M-marlin?" she stammered weakly. The merboy's face lit up and he called out the door, his words a strange string of syllables to quick for the healer to decipher. "What's going on?" Emily pushed herself up, the thin blanket on her shoulders sliding from her slight frame and resting in a pile on the floor.

"Shhhh…" Marlin gently pushed her back onto the cabin bunk and replaced the blanket. Kara, Adriane, Zach, and Ozzie squeezed into the small room. "Now, what do you remember?" She levered herself up into a sitting position again, resting her back against the wooden wall.

"I…I remember mermaids. I remember falling under their spell and something was off and I called for you. And then," Emily shuddered, wrapping her arms around her abdomen," I remember pain…excruciating pain." She looked up at her friends. Kara and Adriane glanced at each other and Zach shifted uncomfortably. Marlin's eyes remained locked on her face. "What happened to me?" she asked in a bare whisper.

"Well…you changed." Kara frowned in concentration. "A lot." Emily raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth but closed it again when Zach cut in.

"It would be better if you saw for yourself," he said quickly.

"Ye better get yer webbed hiney out here, merboy! We've made land at de cove I told ye 'bout," Cribby called out. "In fact, ye all best git out here." They slowly filed out and Emily pushed herself off the bunk to join them.

"Nope," Adriane shook her head. "You need to rest." Emily met her coal black eyes with a fiery glare.

"I'm fine, now let me out." She tried to shove pas the warrior, but Adriane pushed her firmly back onto the cot.

"Sit." Emily grudgingly obliged. "Now stay. Sleep." Adriane smiled at her. "We'll get you in a couple of hours, before the sun goes down. Then you can come out and," she trailed off, leaving Emily to wonder what would happen. Soon after they left, however, she found herself tired, exhausted even. _Maybe they were right_. The redhead curled up on the thin mattress, her blanket pulled up to her chin, and sank into dreams of deep water and sinister eyes.

2 hours later a shriek and a thump pulled Adriane and the others out of their hushed conversation on the deck. Immediately they were inside the cabin to find Emily in a tangled heap on the floor, her eyes wild and her body trembling. She flinched away from their touch and curled protectively over her stomach, a series of dry heaves leading to much back rubbing and soothing words. Tears pricked Emily's eyes when she looked up despairingly at her friends.

TBC


	4. Tricks of the Trade

OoOOoOo! It's pretty and gasp longer! Well, get ready cuz the next one is LONGER! Anyways, read on.

4: Tricks of the Trade

"Go." The word was a harsh whisper that grated on the girl's throat, but she didn't care. She needed to be alone with the pain, the pain that she knew would plague her for the rest of her life. Whatever had happened, she had been scarred, invisibly branded by raw power that screeched inside of her for release that she couldn't give. She didn't mind it, really, but the primal urge to use it was there. She wanted to dive into the ocean and hunt, to strike out and kill, and her conscience would never let her body do that. That didn't stop it from trying, however. Decidedly unaware of her friends' presence, she pulled herself back up and lay on the bunk again, vainly struggling to sleep. She must have been convincing because the door shut softly behind them and Emily heard fervent whispers. She stood and crept to the door, leaning against it gently and pressing her ear to the crack.

"We have to tell her now. What if whatever the Sorceress did is killing her!" Adriane was indignant; Emily could hear it in her voice.

"No," Kara whispered, "we'll just scare her. Besides, if she knows she was turned into a mermaid she may want to try it out and get stuck in that form. Who knows if she can even get back without falling unconscious?"

"More than likely she'll be able to restrain the magic with practice so that she won't change every time she hits water. For now, though, we should keep her on land." Ozzie sounded incredibly calm for the current situation. _Am I really part mermaid now?_ Emily wondered. She pressed closer, pushing the door open a bit to hear the conversation better.

"You can't keep it from her forever," Marlin added quietly. "Sooner or later she'll have to use the power. Out of nowhere she'll just flop to the ground with a tail and fins."

"And what happens if you're on Earth when it happens?" Zach continued Marlin's thought. "You said not many people believed in magic there. Won't they want to study her like the Sorceress studied the mistwolves?"

"We aren't telling her and that's final. Besides, can any of you really _describe_ what happened?" Silence.

"You could try," Emily murmured unconsciously. She colored in embarrassment and looked down as Adriane pulled to door open.

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet, Em. What if that happens again?" Adriane gestured to the blanket on the floor. Emily's temper flared, but she cooled it with the rapid realization that they didn't know what she did.

"It always will," she informed them solemnly. "Marlin's right. The magic wants freedom, even if it has to rip me apart to get it. It was the one flaw of the Dark Sorceress' plan." Emily looked down again, this time in fatigue as the full weight of the revelation sunk in.

"Let's get you onshore," Kara said soothingly. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. In the meantime, we all need a good night's sleep on dry land."

"I'm not going to be treated like an invalid," Emily insisted sharply, her eyes flicking across all of their faces. Kara returned the glare and stomped off. Adriane and Zack turned just as swiftly, but they glanced back at Emily with small smiles.

_Be well, healer_, Lyra nuzzled her hand, soon followed by Dreamer with the same tidings. She watched them go.

"We aren't trying to," Marlin sighed heavily. "We're just worried." Emily's eyes softened and she caught the boy's eyes.

"Don't be," she murmured, gently brushing his cheek. She then looked down and slipped past him to exit the boat.

TBC

You know the drill. Push the button.


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